In order to enhance national action and contribute to the international effort to fight human trafficking, the UNODC Regional The University of Queensland (UQ) today launched its
new Migrant Smuggling Case Database, containing details of more than 100 documented cases of migrant smuggling prosecuted in five countries.

The UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific recently launched the Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and Related Conduct (VRS-MSRC) - an internet-based, secure system where state authorities can collect and share migrant smuggling data. The system is in support of the Bali Process, an inter-governmental dialogue on migrant smuggling and human trafficking covering mainly Asia and the Pacific.

The Toolkit to Combat Smuggling of Migrants is designed as a compendium of promising practices that States can adopt as measures to counteract organized criminal syndicates, address the vulnerability of smuggled migrants, amongst the many other factors that States face in implementing the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol.

The purpose of this tool is to assist Member States and non-state actors in identifying and addressing gaps in their response to migrant smuggling in accordance with international standards. The Framework for Action unpacks provisions of the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, drawing upon international instruments, political commitments, guidelines and best practices to enable the implementation of a comprehensive response to migrant smuggling.

The Assessment Guide provides an inventory of measures for assessing the legislative, investigative, prosecutorial, judicial, and administrative responses to the smuggling of migrants by land, air, and sea, for deterring and combating such crime, and for integrating the information and experience gained from such assessment into successful national, regional, and international strategies.

The joint UNODC/World Customs Organization Container Control Programme continues to expand. From the four-country pilot start-up phase in 2006, the Programme is now active in 41 countries across the world, and seizure data show its impact very clearly. In 2012 alone, more than 11 tons of cocaine, 17 tons of cannabis and 434 tons of precursor chemicals needed for the production of illicit drugs were seized in ports where the Programme is active.

This week, UNODC was granted full membership in the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. This voluntary forum brings more than 40 countries and numerous international organizations together in crafting and implementing solid responses to migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. The Bali Process also endorsed the UNODC-developed
Voluntary Reporting System on Migrant Smuggling and Related Conduct (VRS-MSRC), a secure, internet-based tool that allows contributing countries to collect and share information and analysis of migrant smuggling and irregular migration.

The purpose of this tool is to assist Member States and non-state actors in identifying and addressing gaps in their response to migrant smuggling in accordance with international standards. The Framework for Action unpacks provisions of the Smuggling of Migrants Protocol, drawing upon international instruments, political commitments, guidelines and best practices to enable the implementation of a comprehensive response to migrant smuggling.

Twenty-two years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families - an important event both for people who move voluntarily for better economic opportunities and different lifestyles as well as those displaced by conflict, political upheaval, violence, disasters, climate change and, increasingly, economic necessity. In recognition of this, 18 December was designated International Migrants Day - a day on which UNODC takes the opportunity to highlight the role of organized criminal networks that benefit from migrants seeking a better life.